SHORT SIGHTED? When the importance of net run-rate topped the priority list of other captains, Graeme Smith failed to foresee it. — PHOTO: AFP

ST. GEORGE'S : South Africa has fallen into bad habits at the World Cup.

It has suffered painful eliminations at three of the past four tournaments, all but one of them entirely avoidable.

In the Caribbean this time, a squad with a strong batting line-up and formidable opening attack was seemingly cruising to a semifinal berth and had its fate entirely in its own hands.

Then came a 67-run Super Eight loss to Bangladesh last week and Saturday's five-wicket defeat to New Zealand.

Those losses were disappointing. What baffled fans, however, was that South Africa seemed ignorant of the negative effect on its run rate when it allowed West Indies to bat the full 50 overs even when it was apparent it was cruising to victory over the tournament host.

Key game

South Africa must now beat England in Barbados on Tuesday. If it doesn't, England would almost certainly edge it to a semifinal spot on run rate.

While captain Graeme Smith has said his team is only thinking about winning games, other sides are thinking about run rate.

"You're dumb if you don't," New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said.

South Africa was already talking up the match against England as effectively a quarterfinal before it played New Zealand. With New Zealand winning easily, that looked like another mistake.

"One thing we've done really well in the tournament so far is stay in the present and focus on one game at a time, the old cliche," Australia captain Ricky Ponting said. "If you start looking ahead, you're not preparing as well for the game in hand."

It all feels horribly familiar to South Africa fans, who saw their team knocked out in 1999 and 2003 because of blunders.

It famously tied the 1999 semifinal against Australia when Allan Donald was run out on the third-last ball following a mix-up with Lance Klusener when the team only needed one run to win. Australia advanced to the final by virtue of losing fewer wickets.

Steve Waugh's apocryphal taunt that Herschelle Gibbs dropped the World Cup by spilling a catch allow him to reach an unbeaten 120 entered cricketing folklore from the same match.

Four years later, Shaun Pollock misinterpreted what run rate South Africa required against Sri Lanka under the Duckworth-Lewis method and missed out on the next round by one run. He was soon fired as captain. By coincidence, it was South Africa's exit from the 1992 semifinals after requiring 21 runs from one ball on a previous rain-rule that had prompted the ICC to find a fairer system to decide rain-affected matches. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail